Target Stops Sales of Bear Toys Over Lead Concerns

The California attorney general is asking Target Corp. to pull its Valentine's Day "Message Bears" from store shelves over concerns that they have illegal levels of lead.

In a letter sent to the company Monday, Attorney General Jerry Brown said testing of the holiday toys revealed lead levels that violate federal law.

The products were identified as two of Target's "Message Bears" — one a pink stuffed bear with "XOXO" across the chest and the other a brown stuffed bear with "I Love U" across the chest, with "love" represented by a heart.

Investigators from the Center for Environmental Health, a nonprofit watchdog, found that the bears' inflated vinyl letters contained well over federal limits for lead in products for children under the age of 12.

Beth Hanson, a spokeswoman for Target, said the company received Brown's letter and has pulled the toys. She says it is investigating.

"We are locking this item at point of sale so guests are unable to purchase it while we conduct an internal investigation on the safety of this product," Hanson said. "Target's initial investigation indicates this product had compliant testing results when it was shipped."

The lead was brought to Brown's attention by the center, which bought the toys at stores in California.

Lead exposure can damage the nervous system and other organs, and can be especially harmful to children.

"Parents need to know that lead-tainted vinyl has no place on products for their kids," Caroline Cox, research director for CEH, said in a statement.

The bears were made in China and sold exclusively by Target stores, the center's report stated.

"In this case, the laboratory identified lead levels nearly 10 times higher than those allowed under federal law," Brown's letter stated. "We ask that you stop selling the bears immediately and that you accept returns of the product, even without a receipt, as part of any corrective action."